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Saturday, March 17, 2018

Daily Devotion: The Spiritual Warfare Of Anger

Key Verse: Verse 21 - “Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath.”

Key Words: if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you
You kind of get the idea that Nehemiah was upset. It was the Sabbath and rather than gathering for worship, the merchants had gathered for business. This angered Nehemiah and drew the response, “...if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you.”

As you read God’s Word, you find three causes of anger: frustration, humiliation, and rejection. No doubt Nehemiah’s anger was caused by frustration. But it was also a righteous anger. Righteous anger is when we are upset because of what others are doing to the testimony of God. Righteous anger focuses on God while unrighteous anger focuses on self. Maybe we should consider the following.

When we become angry with others we tend to do one of three things. Some repress their anger, still others suppress anger, but the vast majority resort to a third solution–they seek revenge.

An old Englishman known as Father Graham in his village was greatly loved because of his positive influence. One day an angry young man who had just been badly insulted came to see Father Graham. As he explained the situation, he said he was on his way to demand an apology from the one who had wronged him. “My dear boy,” Father Graham said, “take a word of advice from an old man who loves peace. One insult is like mud; it will brush off much better when it is dry. Wait a little, until he and you are both cool, and the problem will be easily solved. If you go now, you will only quarrel.” The young man heeded the wise advice, and soon he was able to go to the other person and resolve the issue.

Always remember that a chip on the shoulder indicates that there is wood higher up.